Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I am a user and a champion of social media, the internet, the cyberspace community and any technological mechanism or social structure which brings people together. Yet, I find that I spend more time with the operational formalities of these groups and media (such as returning emails, posting in groups, providing status updates, authoring and administering blogs and other emedia) than actually interacting interpersonally with my ever-increasing roster of self-professed friends and associates. The art of acquiring and amintaining true friendships is rapidly dying. I receive more text messages than telephone calls, and (for the time being), more emails than text messages. The warmth of someone' handshake, the sound of someone's voice, the promise of help or glimmer of compassion in another person's eyes...these are disappearing.

Even more alarmingly, the average teenager or young adult (13 years old to 25 years old) tends to text message at a rate of ten messages per hour during every waking moment of his or her young life. In actuality, these are really one-sided broadcasts, and not truly mutual communications. There is expediency without expression. There is little opportunity for depth, or active feedback. The very notion of conversation is fast becoming obsolete. The notion of friendly communion is all but gone. Our signals are becoming increasingly terse and one-sided, and the quality of our relationships is rapidly deteriorating. We are as lonely inside as loggers or country telephone linemen -- but we persist in this marathon of "connection collection" instead of bonding, which is an essential pysiological and psychological need for growth, development, education and, ultimately, a peaceful co-existence. We do much and share little. We are letting our frenetic lifestyles de-humanize us and de-civilize us. This trend is feeding the global economic recession and the global emotional depression.

As communication becomes more unilateral and discrete, we are losing conversation. We are losing the "tell" of body language and the warmth of physical closeness. The planetary signal-to-noise ratio is decreasing. This is sadly analogous to those situations where a busy work day only allows us 15 minutes for lunch, so we wolf down some fast-serve food, barely tasting it, not even digesting it properly, and ultimately winding up with headaches, ulcers and overweight.

This trend will continue until the resultant emotional and physiological health issues make existence into a complete, living hell. At that point, perhaps three, five or seven years from now, after the major pharmaceuticals companies have made an ungodly fortune on the sale of antidepressant and antianxiolytic drugs to most of the population, will someone re-invent the idea of socializing to develop relationships. And at that time, what we ordinarily did some 40 or 50 years ago will seem like a breakthrough. Further, the initiator who puts thi into action will be hailed as a genius and will be handsomely rewarded.

The following written segment was excerpted from a newsletter published by the World Future Society (http://www.wfs.org) one of the resources which I utilize in my trendspotting and forecasting activities:

==========================================
LONELINESS IN AN INTERCONNECTED WORLD
==========================================

The average American today has only a third as many friends as 25 years
ago, and one-fourth have no close confidants at all, according to
recently released data from medical researchers. The Internet may be
largely to blame, says Michael Bugeja, author of INTERPERSONAL DIVIDE
(Oxford University Press, 2005).

Many people have a swarm of friends on Facebook, but do they ever call?
"Friending" is not the same as "befriending"--being a friend--Bugeja
notes, arguing that instead of creating a global village, the Internet
has distracted and distanced us from each other.

One impact is that lonely people have no one to turn to in hard times,
whereas during the Depression people relied on each other. Now, when
people can no longer afford the communications devices they've come to
rely on instead of people, they become truly isolated. As a result,
suicide rates may increase, even among young children, Bugeja warns.

Most of us utilize social media as a communication or news-gathering medium.

It is wonderful to have ideals. From our dreams, future reality is crafted. I am not opposed to dreaming. But I would advise that you carefully tread the line between dreams and a denial of reality as it exists in our World. I have been quoted as saying that "George Orwell was an optimist." I have also been quoted as saying that John, while writing the Book of Revelations during his inspiring but unsettling imprisonment, was not so much a religious scribe as a student of Human Behavioral Psychology.

Before delving further into this discussion, realize the following facts, and think about their implications. While this may be unsettling news to many of us, that contingent of us which is considered to be paranoic will feel a bit vindicated. As my late father once said, "Being paranoid is not always crazy. Sometimes some people are really out to get you."

1. There is no such thing as "off the record." If someone hears (or overhears, or reads) your comments, they will invariably divulge what they know given a careless moment, coercion or compensation. As Delilah asked of her disillusioned shorn spouse, "How could you give me power and not expect me to use it?"

2. All telephone calls, computer keystrokes, emails, website surfing lists, faxes and other wire-transmitted, web-based or hard drive-stored information is accessible to numerous government agencies and private parties. All of it.

3. There is no longer any such thing as a privileged relationship between a congregant and his/her priest, lawyer or other person. All persons can be induced, by law, or by other means to testify.

4. When you fill out confidentiality forms at healthcare institutions and other sanctified places, the forms you sign are all subject to legal seizure, subpoena, or illegal inspection.

5. When you give any online (or other vendors), financial institutions, governmnet agencies your Social Security Number or other unnecessary personal identification information (which they claim is necessary, but can't explain why), odds are greater than 1 in 50 that you identity will be compromised through either direct abuse, or by sale to a third party who likes to buy things which you wouldn't ordinarily buy.

Having said this, remember that whatever you place on the internet, regardless of your privacy settings, can be accessed. if you put up pictures of yourself in compromising poses, or make some irresponsible statements, a prospective employer or partner can (and likely will find them) -- and thus your chances of getting hired will likely be greatly diminished.

If you use social media (and even texting) during business hours, it is likely that you are being monitored. The best way to contend with this lack of privacy is to be either A) silent; or B) honest but avoid incendiary, suggestive or insulting language (especially about your place of employment or about your incompetent, overbearing, flatulent and debaucherous boss); or C) use the social media to plant communications that you would want others to tap into which could serve your advantage...in the old days, when I rode a bike with training wheels, we called this "counter-espionage."

Brenda Krueger Huffman, a colleague and a Featured Columnist in The National Networker Newsletter writes her own blog, and I am a fan. I would suggest that you subscribe to Brenda's Blog (which is loaded with real-world, no-holds-barred insights) and to The National Networker Newsletter and its related GICBC at http://bit/ly/JoinTNNW .

I have written several articles regarding social networking and privacy with particular emphasis on how it relates to interviewing for a job in today's employment environment. I've also written several articles regarding the importance of an online presence in competing well in today's business world. A balance of the two is needed as well as just plain common sense!

I am a member of the group Law & Social Networking. I wanted to share this most important L&S blog post with you written by Shalanda Ballard titled "Social Networking Can Get You Fired". Article Link

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Welcome to 02.19.2010 - Items of Interest and Resources for The Global Futurist (and for all Futurists)

Dear Friends and Fellow Futurists:

I have some news, trends and ideology (I am told that I get preachy at times) to share with you. In lieu of my usual "rant and ramble" approach to writing, I have decided to provide you with more of a listing of items and related links. This is a wonderful thing for both (all) of us...I just had some surgery on my left arm so I have very limited abilities at the moment, and you get spared my decidedly old-school, academic Honor Society essay! Not one to use cliches, I would call this a "win-win situation." [Sadly, the surgeon informed me that the operation was a qualified success, in that he had fixed the neurological problem, but that the sarcasm was so widespread throughout my system that he could not get it all out -- that part was inoperable.].

1. Senator Evan Bayh walks away from a promising future in the Senate because he believes that the political machinery of the United States government is so badly broken, that nothing meaningful can be accomplished unless it is totalled scrapped and replaced. He might be leading a small but frightening trend amongst those few politicians who are seriously concerned with the betterment of society (and the quality of life for every Human Being) than for the opportunity to make a lot of money by playing a compromised and corrupt game. Read Walking Away, at http://thenationalnetworkerweblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/walking-away.html.

2. The DaVinci Institute (http://www.davinciinstitute.org) produces a prognostication publication that I receive which covers some interesting trends and hypotheses regarding the future. I am adding them to our GLOBAL FUTURIST list of resource links, although I do not necessarily endorse or agree with their findings. Nonetheless, their trendspotting, publications and events might prove a worthwhile resource for every Futurist. More data from more sources gives every aspiring Futurist a broader and better perspective. Some links to recent information include these, and they are certainly worth looking at:

Entrepreneurs Using 401(k) Savings to Start BusinessesDon Poffenroth paged through a magazine on a flight several years ago when an article grabbed his attention: Entrepreneurs could use 401(k) savings to start a business without getting hit by taxes and early- withdrawal penalties. Continue reading

More Computers Hacked in China Than Any Other CountryMore private computers were commandeered by hackers for malicious purposes in China in the last quarter of 2009 than in any other country, including the United States, according to a new study by an Internet security company. Continue reading

The Future of Social MediaIn the few short years that social media has been a marketing vehicle, it has already had an enormous effect on the way companies do business. In the coming years there will be even more changes, as social media marketing extends from the marketing department to nearly every aspect of a companys business. Continue reading

Worlds Fastest Train Opens In ChinaThe worlds fastest train opens in China just in time to whisk people away for the Chinese New Year celebrations. Wow, it is faster than a helicopter, exclaimed Luo Rongguang as the G1049 Harmony Express eased its way out of Wuhan train station and instantly began to gain speed. Continue reading

8 Key Trends in Food MarketingTodays consumers have a taste for everything that is local, organic and healthy. Our very own time-honored and distinct local foods will soon receive their well- deserved attention as a recent study revealed that regional and community brands are the ones being welcomed and sought after by most Filipino consumers. Continue reading

Number of Marriages in Britain Has Fallen to Lowest Level Since 1862For the first time ever fewer than 2 in 100 women, over the age of 16, got married in a single year. In 2008 the marriage rate for women fell from 2 per cent to 1.96 per cent, less than half the rate 25 years ago. Continue reading

Biofortification Will Become a Trend in the FutureA Yarrawonga farmer believes biofortification of grain with trace elements will become a trend in the future. Evan Ryan said trace element biofortification of grains supercharging them with elements such as zinc, boron, selenium or other micronutrients was a novel way of solving human health and nutrition problems. Continue reading

Nielsen: Teens Text an Average of 10 Times per HourAmerican teenagers send an average of 10 text messages per hour they are not in school or sleeping, according to research by The Nielsen Company. By analyzing more than 40,000 monthly U.S. mobile bills, Nielsen determined American teens sent an average of 3,146 texts a month each during Q3 2009. Their tween counterparts (ages 9-12) sent an average of 1,146 monthly texts each, or four per hour not spent asleep or in school. In comparison, the average number of monthly texts sent by all mobile users combined was a little more than 500, writes Marketing Charts. Continue reading

5 Skills That Make a Successful TrendspotterWho should be deciphering the future and helping shape how a business understands and prepares for it? The first inclination might be to think about a specific part of an organization for the function. Its important though to identify the individuals well-suited to this challenging role. From that perspective, five capabilities are vital to successfully champion this effort: Continue reading

Electric Bikes Struggle To Take Ground In U.S. In Xiamen, China, Zhou Debao weaves his electric bike through the busy city streets to pick up dried noodles and candy to sell at his familys convenience store. His wife sometimes borrows it to run errands, and his son, to go to work. Continue reading####

3. There are some major developments in medicine regarding oral drugs which may well have the potential to delay the progression or greatly reduce the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis in its earliest stages as well when the condition has advanced. I think that we will see major advances in the prevention and treatment of MS, other demyelinating diseases, and various autoimmune disorders. Read The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has some promising info on Ampyra. http://bit.ly/UpdateMS.

4. Anti-Aging and the Longevity movements, as well as their associated research, products and protocols are becoming increasing well-known (under the labels of alternative medicine, nutritional supplements, cognitive-enhancement drugs, mind-enhancement drugs, and cosmetology), and the use of nootropic drugs for the slowing down of the aging process (as well as for their potential effects on focus, concentration, retention, creativity and the like) is increasing. The growing markets are curiously stratified: 1) university students and 2) Baby Boomers. Look for an increase in consumer investment in these products in both markets. While some of these items (topically-applied and non-prescription skin treatments, herbal "supplements" and biologicals) are manufactured and sold in the United States, most of them are made elsewhere in the World, and have to be imported in limited supplies. Here's a sample article, excerpted from an IAS Newsletter which I just received (International Anti-Aging Sytems, at http://www.antiaging-systems.com ):

Nootropics - A Smarter Way

"Recent press attention in national newspapers and magazines such as Wired, on both sides of the Atlantic has focused on student’s use of ‘Nootropics’ and other ‘smart drugs’ to improve their studies.

In the pressure cooker environment of top universities, students have looked to products like Piracetam and Modafinil to optimize their mental performance for revision and exams. You don’t have to be an Ivy League or Oxbridge student, the wish to improve our minds or fight some of those everyday signs of aging, such as forgetting where you put the car keys is universal.

As use of cognitive enhancement products for recall, concentration and focus increases, the current wave of interest is just the tip of what has been described as the ‘age of cosmetic neurology’.

IAS has been at the forefront of supplying these for nearly 19 years, we currently stock the following cognitive enhancers..." ####

You can also expect more and more regulatory attention on the part of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the recently elevated and largely self-governing Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and U.S. Customs (now a part of the Homeland Security Agency) to every aspect of the use, sale and importation of any of these substances. This will be big news during the course of the next three years, while many government agencies are aggressively taking advantage of the lack of oversight by any citizen-empowered groups (or government agencies which ostensibly protect consumer rights), and in the names (pretexts, really) of "The War on Terrorism," and "The Protection of the US Domestic Economy". The marketplace within the EU and Asia will continue to grow, with less encumbrances by regulatory agencies.

5. Author/reporter John Myers of Bob Livingston's ultra-conservative publication, The Personal Liberty Digest, writes a fascinating article (regardless of your political inclinations and agenda) about the U.S. Government's purported reasoning and efforts to make the United States into a "cashless society". The article, Titled

I hope that you get some utility out of the information and resources listed above, and, more importantly, I hope that you will take action in response to ideas with which you agree. Just reading the news and not applying the knowledge that you glean from it doesn't make you any more than a willing victim. When I was in college, there were two sayings spray-painted on the side of one of the administration buildings at Stony Brook University. They were: "If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem," and, "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." Student activism...how I miss it.

If you care about Humanity and Human Society, then you should help to shape the future anstead of passsively waiting for it to sweep you away. A futurist with a social conscience finds it difficult not to be an activist.

Recently, one of our url-shortening services, twitlik.com, ceased its business, relegating many of our links to "dead - end" status. We have replaced the service and are trying to repair (by some sort of reverse engineering) so of the links embedded into our archived articles for The National Networker Newsletter and The Blue Tuesday Report.

We do not want to lose touch with anyone, and we do not want to deprive new visitors of their chance to join TNNW's GICBC (Global Interworked Cooperative Business Community) as members, free of charge.

Here are some of the urls to our key pages and functions, both direct (i.e., long, but always working) and shortened through bit.ly, which is one of the more reliable services. Please keep these addresses handy, and consider this our invitation to communicate and collaborate with us.

It promises to be a very busy week -- we are actively consolidating and re-designing our website, commencing on Friday (aaaaaah...) and I am going in for some minor surgery (a cranial expansion to accommodate my ego) tomorrow.

As always, thank you for fueling our growth, and for being a part of something wonderful -- a sea change in the quality of life for society, and a pradigm shift for the structure of a new form of business entity.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Note: The article which follows was originally published in The National Networker Newsletter on 02.07.2010.

Generation XX - Women Rising to Greater Power and Influence.

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

During the course of the next five years, I have forecast a growing propensity for collaborative entrepreneurship as a replacement for traditional corporate career paths, solopreneurship and the now-ineffective camouflage of non-working or "expendable" middle management. I speak about this frequently in THE GLOBAL FUTURIST and in THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE.

What I had neglected to mention was that this transitional wave is going to become increasingly dominated by the feminine gender. Here are just several of the reasons why:

1. Women now read more than men and retain more of the essence of what they read;

2. Women, physiologically and psychologically are much more flexible, adaptable and adventurous than men;

3. Women are comprising an increasing percentage of the workforce, especially following the growing acceptance of the "Mr. Mom" and "Stay-At-Home-Dad" labor shift;

4. Women are more inclined to trust their instincts, intuition and to avoid rationalizing in matters of business;

5. An increasing number of women (presidential candidates, Supreme Court Justices, professionals and other high-achievers) are being seen as role models. It's not just Rachel Ray, or Oprah Winfrey, or Sarah Palin, or Hillary Rodham Clinton...it is a geometrically increasing number of exceptional women who are proving that women are not necessarily the exception (what a terrible sentence I've constructed);

6. Women are quite comfortable at working in cause-based groups, on projects, and on committees -- they are natural networkers and gracefully integrate socializing and conducting business. The founders of Mary Kay, Avon, and (the legendary) Tupperware were truly visionaries;

7. Women tend to be better planners and organizers than men. This is largely environmentally encultured, but might even be a genetic/ gender advantage;

8. Women have a greater facility for retaining a great deal of personal and detailed information, and they generally have a better ability to recall seemingly small but nonetheless critical nuances or words said offhandedly;

9. Women are accomplished users of non-verbal communication, and superior interpreters of body language...they read their quarry with greater accuracy than men;

10. Women enjoy the relationship-building aspects of selling, presenting and sharing. They are, generally speaking, more socially mobile than men;

11. Women bond through compassion, which leads to cooperation;

12. An increasing number of women have become trained and conversant in technological areas of expertise, infused with the quirky spirit of problem-solving and inventiveness;

13. Women tend to be better at multi-tasking, evaluation, moderation and budgeting (despite the prevalent and stereotypically-reinforced perception amongst males that women are manic spenders and are "foolish with money");

14. Women are more inclined to be vigilant and efficient utilizers of resources (including their female employees);

15. Women (with certain exceptions, of course) tend to identify with other women as an oppressed and underestimated group. This creates a magnetism and a subconscious connection among them which far surpasses the "business friendships" of traditionalist males;

16. Women who also happen to be Baby Boomers are possessed of a spirit of adventure and rebirth through career change that younger, less seasoned women cannot quite match.

The trajectory in female entrepreneurial ventures during the course of the next two or three years will tend to be more horizontal than that of their male predecessors and counterparts, but they will tend to be more persistent and consistent in their attentiveness and achievements. Once a foundation of examples through exemplars and a level of the expectation of success have been built during that timeframe, expect this curve to become more vertical. Women will not only rise to power and influence, but their access to affluence will become more direct and expedient.

As a member of the male gender, I would advise others similarly constructed to look at women not only as adventurous and enthusiastic consumers, but as entrepreneurs, business owners and thought leaders. A few examples of WTWF ("Women To Watch For") follow, as examplars. Bear in mind that these individuals have already achieved a great deal in their careers, but they are not even close to being at the peak of their rise.
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*Bonnie Ross-Parker: The Founder of The Joy of Connecting, a brilliantly-conceived program which empowers women to prospect and develop their businesses in a non-threatening, social environment. Ms. Ross-Parker's methods are unique in that they 1) eliminate the "hit-or-miss" superficial frenzy of traditional networking and business events, while they 2) actually create a potent, time-tested interpersonal means of truly bonding on a deeper, trust-engendering level with the added factor of shared intimacy. At present, there are 70 Joy Of Connecting licensees in 19 states...a number which is expected to grow geometrically over the next two years. The licensing fees are incredibly inexpensive for the tremendous benefits generated by the licensees and all of the professionals and businesswomen who attend these gatherings. Going well beyond mere networking and connecting, JOC is, perhaps, one of the most cost-effective ways of developing immediate local business. She is a published author an award-winning speaker, and has her own radio program which may become the nucleus of a women's media empire. A JOC license is one of the best and surest investments that a any female professional, executive or entrepreneur can make. Watch her.

*Sandra Levitin:The Founder, CEO and Editor-In-Chief of Kalon Women, a social and business website which directly addresses the special needs and interests of women 40 years and older [which is a growing and increasingly active segment of the marketplace], with a newly-launched ezine, interactive forums, product and service reviews, and enormous treasure chest of resource, articles, news, and special product and service reviews. In only two years, Kalon Women has built up an emedia subscribed readership of in excess of 60,000 persons, and that number is growing rapidly. Ms. Levitin's captive audience is a powerful, active consumer group, and I would anticipate that her organization will become a publishing and advertising conglomerate. The content is not only relevent and exciting, but it is thought-provocative and virtually radiates a call to action. Watch her.

*Ann Barczay Sloan: Ms. Sloan, a published author, interviewer, speaker and a Connectrix Vortex [a lingovation which describes Ann's role as being a catalyst who brings very well-accomplished, successful and powerful women together], is also a Featured Columnist for The National Networker Newsletter. She has unique access to virtually anyone whom she choose to access - I am reminded of Barbara Walters or Larry King, both of whom were incredible in their ability to get interviews with some of the busiest, most important and often controversial people in the world...many of these interviewees who were notable in their elisiveness and reticence, opened up with amazing candor to these interviewers. In sum: If Ann interviews you, it is highly likely you are either already enormously successful, or on the trajectory for great achievement and recognition.

Ms. Sloan is in the process of writing two books -- one, a book about the success secrets of winning women ["The Power of Passion; Winning Women Reveal Their Success Secrets"], and the other, a volume of poetry. She is currently at work on putting together an e-forum and organization (The Winning Women's Vortex) which has two game-changing objectives on its agenda: The first is to build a Women's Venture Capital and Business Financing Fund, and the second is to build a Credit Union which caters to the special interests and requirements of female entrepreneurs. My projection is that she will succeed at both. Watch her:

I would suggest that you Google the three leading-edge female luminaries mentioned above, and click on their links to see what the face of achievement and progress looks like. These are three people to watch. But bear in mind, they are slightly ahead of a wave that is fast coming to shore. And as I have said before, when the tidal wave comes, you can either learn to surf or be crushed in its immensity and force.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Rare Earth Elements and Thorium advocates. Champions of atomic and nuclear power. The only good news that I offer you today is that fact that US President Barack Obama is coming out strongly in favor of nuclear energy. Windmills, solar panels and other "green" alternatives are excellent, each in its own way. The first difficulty is the time required to convert our entire infrastructure and technological interface to utilize wind and solar power. The second is the amount of work which must be done, and the amount of time that work will take to complete, in order to produce and harness sufficient stored supplies of these types of power (think of the example of a battery) to be free of the yoke of fossil fuels and Big Oil. - Douglas Castle

"When the unconscionable becomes the norm, we stand at the precipice of socio-economic extinction." - Douglas Castle

The article which follows was written by Douglas Castle, author and advocate of the Global Interworked Cooperative Business Community (GICBC), a new form of entity based upon a collaborative paradigm of shared contribution and shared rewards which may provide a vehicle to save the fast-fading notions of democracy, government by the consent of the governed, government by and for the People, advancement based upon merit, and a form of industrious capitalism where currency is a means of exchange and store of value, but not a mountain of scrip standing between the entrenched and protected "ruling class," (a small minority of persons controlling in large part the fate of everyone) and the dispossessed, disillusioned and desperate masses who no longer experience a quality of life that gives them cause to live. Please do consider becoming a member of The National Networker Companies, an organization which is Humankind's first GICBC in the making. Become a member for free by clicking on http://twitlik.com/IN .I am honored to be the Vice-Chairman and Director of Strategic Planning for this instrument of change.

Dear Readers:

Two articles are re-printed for your information below. The first is labelled People's Exhibit A, and the second, People's Exhibit B.

The first article is the now-commonplace whining (with no actual question, answer, or opinion provided, at all -- very dry stuff, like cayenne pepper) about AIG awarding giant bonuses to a horde of unscrupulous, compunction-free gamblers who have all but stolen money from the ever-thinning wallets of the American People, and will, with great encouragement, continue to do so. The article is really just there to rile you up a bit. You'll be more receptive to Exhibit B when you are infuriated to the point of screaming until your vocal cords are bloody.

Exhibit A should get you you there. If it does not bother you, or if it makes you shrug your shoulders like Oscar Madison and say something along the lines of "So what else is new? The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. I'm going to get a coffee. Want some?" then don't read Exhibit B.

If what you might instead be looking at is. "How has it come to this? That here, in what used to be called 'The Land of Opportunity,' the poor, or even the middle class are no longer permitted a chance at becoming rich? That's not opportunity -- that some kind of trap. We need to pull this poisoned tree up by its roots, and plant something fresh and new in its place. The existing system is so convoluted and conflicted that trying to "fix it" is as futile as raising the dead by singing a song to a worm-riddled corpse. This has to be scrapped and replaced. This is like a 20-year old car that needs so much work every month that it would be cheaper to junk it and buy a new one...in fact, I could have bought three news ones by now with all the money I've thrown into that depreciating hunk of crap! Let's dump this vehicle and shop for something that works!"

If this reaction comes out in you, I heartily encourage you to read Exhibit B.

Message:

Author and Commentator Robert Reich is looking in the right place. Instead of complaining about "Big Government" he is concerned, and rightly so, about our shrinking Democracy. This is truly the core issue. I will be adding the Huffington Post to my Twitter resource and news update list, and I feel a blog post coming on...Google the term "GICBC."

Please stick around for the read...er....the ride.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

People's Exhibit A

Reports: AIG to pay out $100 million in bonuses

Wed Feb 3, 7:05 am ET

NEW YORK – American International Group Inc. is set to pay out about $100 million in a fresh round of bonuses to employees of its financial products division, the unit whose risky bets helped sink the company leading to a $180 billion government bailout, according to reports published Tuesday.
AIG agreed to cut the retention bonuses by $20 million but will still hand out $100 million Wednesday, The New York Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the negotiations.
The Washington Post, also citing people familiar with the situation, said the retention payments are for employees at the division who agreed to accept 10 to 20 percent less than AIG had initially promised them two years ago. In return, they are getting their money more than a month ahead of schedule.
AIG is still due to pay out tens of millions of dollars more in March, mostly to former employees who did not agree to the concessions, the Post reported.
A message was left with an AIG spokesman seeking comment.
New York-based AIG faced intense public and Congressional criticism last March when it paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in retention bonuses to employees months after receiving the government bailout.
When the credit crisis hit in the fall of 2008, the U.S. government rescued AIG from the brink of collapse in exchange for an 80 percent stake in the insurer. AIG's near collapse was not due to its traditional insurance operations, but instead risky derivatives contracts written by the financial products division. ####

People's Exhibit B

The item which follows was written by Robert Reich, and I happened to stumble upon it while glancing over the Huffington Post.

I wish conservatives would stop complaining about big government and start worrying about the real problem -- small democracy. I wish we'd all worry more about our incredible shrinking democracy.
It seems as if more and more decisions that should be made democratically are being shunted off somewhere to a few people who make them in back rooms. Which programs should be cut, which entitlements pared back, and what taxes raised in order to reduce the long-term budget deficit? Hmmm. Let's convene a commission and have them decide.
Commissions are a default mechanism when politicians want to hand off difficult issues to "experts." But reducing the long-term budget deficit has almost nothing to do with expertise. It's about our nations' values and priorities. Nothing could be more central to the democratic process.
Democracy requires at least three things: (1) Important decisions are made in the open. (2) The public and its representatives have an opportunity to debate them, so the decisions can be revised in light of what the public discovers and wants. And (3) those who make the big decisions are accountable to voters.
But these principles are in retreat, and I say this not just because of the proposed deficit commission.
The notorious Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) began with a virtual blank check from Congress. Treasury officials then secretly decided which companies were to receive hundreds of billions of dollars. Why these particular entities were chosen and not others remains a mystery. For months, the Treasury didn't even disclose the identities of the major banks that giant insurer AIG repaid with its bailout money -- 100 cents on each dollar AIG owed them.
The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, has gone far beyond its traditional role of setting short-term interest rates. It has bought up massive amounts of debt -- mortgage debt, Treasury bills, and debt instruments emanating several public agencies, many of them supporting a wide range of private entities. No one outside the Fed knows the ultimate beneficiaries of all this government backing, the criteria used by the Fed for making these commitments, or even how much debt the Fed is buying.
Even if the economic emergency justified such secrecy -- and it's hard to see exactly why it would -- the emergency is over, and yet closed-door decision making continues. Will Treasury use what's left of TARP to help stimulate more jobs and, if so, how? Will the Fed stop buying mortgage-backed securities? No one knows.
The same pattern is evident on other issues. Congress can't decide whether or how to limit the pay of financial executives. So where does the issue end up? The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Fed both say they're going to look at whether pay levels are appropriate. The House and Senate can't agree on what to do about climate change. Who decides? The Environmental Protection Agency concludes it has authority to regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act.
The debate over health-care reform looked like democratic deliberation until you realize the key negotiations that framed the deal occurred behind closed doors, between the White House and Big Pharma and Big Insurance. The Administration promised these industries some thirty million new paying customers. In return, they agreed not to oppose the plan. Big Pharma even placed a firm limit on how much it would cut its costs over the next ten years -- $80 billion, and not a penny more. How do I know this? Not because this crucial deal was made in public, but because it was leaked to the press.
Personally, I want the government to limit the pay of financial executives, regulate greenhouse gases, and reform health care. And no one wanted a financial meltdown. But I'm appalled by the process that's been used to reach these objectives.
A big piece of the problem is this: Washington is now so overrun by lobbyists representing moneyed interests that it's become almost impossible to make policy in the open. If the Treasury and Fed tried to decide publicly which industries and firms should get hundreds of billions, they'd be inundated. Wall Street lobbyists are blocking real financial reform. The energy industry has filled the House's cap-and-trade bill with special subsidies and exemptions. Big Pharma and Big Insurance would have killed off the health-care reform if they hadn't been bought off. When it comes to the long-term deficit, Congress is incapable of acting because so many special interests have their hands out.
But the answer isn't to give up on democracy. Back-room policy making can succumb to private interests just as easily as lobby-infested legislatures (much of the public suspects the Treasury of being too cozy with Wall Street as it is).
The real answer is to recommit ourselves to cleaning up democracy. Yes, I know: The Supreme Court's recent grotesque Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, which decided corporations are people entitled to First Amendment protection, complicates this. But the goal is still possible to achieve with more public money for congressional and presidential candidates who refuse private funding, more constraints on lobbyists, tighter rules for who must register as a lobbyist, fuller disclosure, and tougher rules on the revolving door between public service and private gain. Yale's Bruce Ackerman recently came up with another good idea: A $50 tax credit per person, which they can send to the candidate of their choosing.
Yet nobody seems to be talking about these sorts of reforms. They don't appear on Obama's agenda. True, they don't generate lots of public excitement or appreciation, and they're murderously difficult to enact. But without them our democracy doesn't stand a chance.####

Please stay with me. Follow me on Twitter, The National Networker, Linked In, the blog reviewers. Don't be afraid to get in touch with me directly. If you are as ambitious as you are angry, then we are not merely destined, but obligated, to meet. I can be emailed at DouglasCastle1@live.com.Thanks.